NEW YORK – The Sixers are 5-1, and it all feels much different than it did a year ago. Instead of a miserable group waiting for a stroke of luck that never ultimately came, this group has created its own luck with intensity, focus and – most importantly – ability.

A satisfaction that never truly existed during the 2024-25 season filled the visiting locker room at Barclays Center in Brooklyn after Sunday's workmanlike victory over the Brooklyn Nets. The Sixers are not yet at full strength, and they have flaws. But they are working as more than the sum of their parts. Everybody involved can feel it.

There are plenty of tests to come, and their difficulty will only increase. But the Sixers have aced each pop quiz so far, and after a season in which the entire operation failed to get off the ground at any point, this is something.

Let's begin the week with 5 Sixers thoughts, with notes from the top of the roster down to the bottom:

Tyrese Maxey drawing fouls at will

On Sunday in Brooklyn, Maxey shot four free throws and made all of them. It was the first time in 2025-26 that he attempted fewer than seven free throws in a game. In 2024-25, Maxey averaged 5.6 attempts at the line per game, and it was a career-high mark. His average so far this season is nearly double:

"It adds a lot, man," Maxey said after Sunday's game. "I'm trying to put pressure on the rim, especially in transition. I feel like I can get to the rack at any time, but if I could keep getting to the rack, creating contact, scoring in the paint, then it opens up my three, too."

Maxey has always been a tremendous offensive player, but at times his scoring has been repetitive in terms of how he tries to attack defenses. It is why Sixers head coach Nick Nurse wanted to get Maxey back to playing off the ball, an arrangement that has greatly benefitted Maxey and the team as a whole. Being more adept at drawing fouls just gives Maxey one more weapon that defenses have to be prepared for. It sharpens all of his tools in the process.

"I think it just deals with a little bit more variety in where he's attacking from," Nurse said on Sunday afternoon. "We're playing a little differently when we can – we're trying to – and I think it's helping him just have lots of different opportunities rather than the same lane all the time."

On top of the added versatility, racking up free throws is the most surefire path to providing stable scoring night in and night out. Even as an elite marksman, Maxey will experience nights when shots are simply not falling. But inciting whistles is a skill that can be brought to each and every game no matter what kind of rhythm he is in.

What is the load management plan for Joel Embiid?

As Joel Embiid was officially ruled out for Sunday's game with a "left knee injury recovery" designation, a Sixers source told PhillyVoice it was a planned rest for the former NBA MVP, not a reaction to any new issues with his knee. The team has been extremely focused on taking things slowly with Embiid, whose minutes restriction to begin the season was just 20. The source expressed that padding Embiid's appearances with off days was a priority.

So, with that in mind, it is worth looking at the next few weeks of games on the Sixers' schedule and forecasting Embiid's potential availability. But first, here is how his first four appearances across six games have been mapped out:

Progression should be expected, whether that comes in the form of a lighter minutes restriction or less of an emphasis on padding appearances with off days. But if the priorities remain the same for the next three weeks or so, this could be how Embiid's schedule lines up:

The Sixers have an unfortunately high number of back-to-backs this season – no NBA team has more, in fact – but their early season schedule is spaced out pretty well otherwise. Things get a bit more compressed in the final days of November before the squeeze really escalates in December.

A unique perspective on VJ Edgecombe's incredible opening act

Many in the NBA world have been stunned by how good Edgecombe has been in his first six NBA games. His composure, decision-making and ball-handling have all obliterated expectations, and the No. 3 overall pick has catapulted himself into historic company in terms of early career production.

Through six games with the Sixers, Edgecombe is logging 38.9 minutes per contest, also averaging 20.3 points, 5.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting 49.5 percent from the field and a staggering 42.1 percent from beyond the arc on 6.3 long-range attempts per game.

It is almost unfathomable for a rookie to be that good right off the bat. If there is one person not all that surprised by Edgecombe's immediate success, it is Edgecombe himself. But another person with a unique perspective is not all that shocked, either.

"I knew his game would translate to the [NBA] athletically," Sixers guard Eric Gordon told PhillyVoice on Friday. "But the good thing about him is his poise, and [him] being able to play-make and handle the ball has been very impressive. But it doesn't surprise me."

Gordon and Edgecombe have a long history; they were teammates on the Bahamian national team, when a teenage Edgecombe held his own and more playing against NBA-caliber competition in international play. It was not the first anyone had heard of Edgecombe, but it was his true arrival as a potentially special NBA prospect.

MORE: Gordon believes he's 'definitely got something to prove' in 18th NBA season

Hunter Sallis has an odd NBA debut

Could Sallis, the Sixers' 22-year-old undrafted rookie two-way guard, ever have imagined that his NBA debut would come in the form of two stints lasting less than a minute each?

"I honestly couldn't even tell you how my first NBA experience would be," Sallis told PhillyVoice after doing just that last Monday, "but I'm just blessed to be in this position."

Sallis had no idea his name might be called during the team's win over the Orlando Magic last week. But with the Sixers in need of someone to make two extremely quick cameos in the backcourt to get through the first half without additional foul trouble, they called on him. Sallis prides himself on always being prepared, and suddenly he was being thrown into the fire.

"I'm always staying ready," Sallis said. "Some guys got in foul trouble a little early. And that was the biggest thing, just me staying ready."

For Sallis, even the shortest of opportunities was a sign that the work he has put in since joining the Sixers will be rewarded, he said. He got another chance to play on Sunday in Brooklyn, and scored his first NBA points.

As for the specifics of the work that is being rewarded, Sallis said his primary focus has been regaining consistency as a three-point shooter. Sallis was a stellar shooter in his penultimate collegiate campaign at Wake Forest, but in his final season he struggled from beyond the arc.

Sallis hopes he has many more – and much longer – NBA appearances ahead of him. But as he reflected on his very first foray into NBA action, with veteran teammates excitedly cheering, Sallis took tremendous pride in what had transpired:

MORE: Sixers earn an easy victory in Brooklyn

Johni Broome a candidate to shuttle

Sallis was not the only Sixers rookie to score their first NBA points on Sunday. Second-round pick Johni Broome made his NBA debut in Brooklyn and almost immediately went to work in the low post. His teammates cheered and flexed. Could it have happened sooner?

"If I can look back, I probably wish I would have thrown him out there and taken a look," Nurse said on Friday. "...I got close, once or twice. I can't remember which game now, I got close to pulling the trigger and throwing him in there and then you get a little better read of what you have."

The first read on Sunday was intriguing, and Broome will inevitably find his way into a game before it is out of reach in the final minutes. But Broome, who spent Saturday with the Delaware Blue Coats in the G League, will also spend time down there. Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey acknowledged as much in July, and Nurse is an enthusiastic supporter of the idea.

"You can't get much better unless you're on the floor and playing," Nurse said. "That's why we send guys, or that's why we have guys play for them in general, just to get them game reps and minutes."

The entire organization has faith in Broome, a unique prospect given his age and athletic deficiencies. He had been on the Sixers' radar for years before they drafted him at No. 35 overall in June. 

"The one thing we do know about him, and I think we've seen enough of this, is he's kind of a gamer," Nurse said. "You throw him into the game and all of a sudden he starts making plays and all that kind of stuff... I think he's a good ball transfer guy. He's really smart. I think he makes plays, knows how to play. Kind of makes surprisingly more plays than you think he might."

MORE: Two years after first meeting, Johni Broome lands with Sixers